Garment-supporter.



No. 835,996. PATENTED NOV. 13, 1906.

M. A. WELLS.

GARMENT SUPPORTBR.

APPIQIUATION FILED APB-.10, 1906.

31 wenl'oz at alitomwgrnz v bmzrs PETERS ca, WASHINGTON, u. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 13, 1906.

Application filed April 10, 1906. Serial No. 310,939-

To all whom, it may concern' Be it known that I, MYRTA A. Warm, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment- Supporters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it per.

' way interfere with the comfort or the proper exercise and development of the muscles and organs of the wearer.

The invention resides in certain special features of construction and relative disposition of parts, which will be fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is now had to the accompanying drawing, which represents a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of my inventive idea in the position which such embodiment assumes when being worn.

As the drawing clearly shows, the two shoulder-straps 2 extend downward to form back straps 1, which converge toward each other and are fastened to the back of the belt 9. The belt has at its front a buckle 10 or other means of releasably connecting its ends. The back straps 1 are joined by a horizontally-extending back brace-strap 5, and below the back brace-strap 5 a similar strap 4 is arranged, which forms also the connecting member of the forward extensions 3 of the shoulder-straps 2. The front extensions 3 of the shoulder-straps pass forward and thence downward and rearward under the armpits, and preferably the elements 1, 2, 3, and 4 are constructed of an integral section of mate rial. At the front the shoulder-straps 2 carry tabs 8, with buckles or other releasable fasteners designed to connect with and sustain in position a bust form or supporter, which may be of any desired construction.

To the front of the shouldenstraps 2, directly adjacent to the tabs 8, front straps 6 are fastened, and these converge toward each other and cross just below the belt 9.

The front straps are fastened together by stitching or otherwise at the point of crossing and carry at this point the front tabs 12 for the sanitary napkin or diaper. The back tab 11 for the sanitary napkin is fastened to the back of the belt at the point where the back straps 1 meet the belt. The front straps 6 pass inside of the belt and are unattached thereto, thus allowing free movement of the straps, yet confining them closely to the waist and stomach. One of the front straps 6, preferably the left-hand strap, is divided between the belt and left-hand shoulder-strap, and the contiguous ends are oined by a buckle 7 or other means to facilitate applying the garment-fastener to and removing it from the person. From the crossing-point of the front straps divergent extensions 13 project, extending down the front of the legs of the wearer to carry the tabs 14 and buckles 15 of the hose or stockin supporters.

In the use of the invention t e buckles 7 and 10 are unfastened to allow throwing the straps 2 over the shoulders and causing the belt to encircle the waist, and this done the buckles are secured to hold the garment-fastener in place. The bust form or supporter and sanitary napkin, if these are used, may then be fastened to the tabs 8 and 11 and 12, respectively, and the hose or stockings to the tabs 14. The skirts may be secured to the belt to support them and the waist secured to same in order to keep it drawn down in,

proper position, for which purposes the belt may be provided with buckles, buttons, or other fasteners, as desired. It may thus be seen that the invention provides means for supporting all garments, particularly the garments of women, from the shoulders and waist, where the stresses due to the weight and hindrance of garments should for anatomical reasons be wholly borne. This is espec-ially true in the case of women, for whom my invention is chiefly intended, and further and of equal importance is the fact that my invention owing to its peculiar organization in no instance involves interference with the proper functions of the various organs of the human system. This is of special importance, since the garment-supporters commonly used so cramp and hinder the wearer as in many cases to work actual injury, without considering the discomfort involved. It is also important to observe that the stress due to the support of the hose or stockings, by far the heaviest imposed on a garmentsupporter, is borne directly by the shoulders, while this stress guided and controlled by the belt retaining the front straps closely against the abdomen compresses the same and produces without injury or discomfort the straight-front effect now uniformly sought. The back brace-straps 4and 5, with the shoulder-straps 2 and their extensions 8, constitute a thorough brace for the shoulders.

The device as a whole therefore fits the figure easily, may be worn without injury or discomfort, and serves equally to retain the form of the wearer and to support all garments directly from the hips and shoulders.

While the device is intended mainly for women, some of its featuresto wit, the parts 1, 2, 3, 4:, 5, 6, 9, 13, 14, and Inay be adapted to mens use, the straps 2 bracing the shoulders and supporting the hose, while the belt 9 sustains the drawers and trousers. In such case the supporter should be worn under the shirt and trousers, so that no part of the supporter is exposed to View. To remove the garment-supporter, it is only necessary to release the buckles 7 and 10 and allow the entire fabric to fall from the person.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. A garment-supporter comprising shoulder-straps, back straps connected thereto and extending downward toward each other, a belt with means for releasably joining its ends to the rear of which. belt the back straps are attached, front shoulder-strap extensions passing rearward and downward to and connected with the back straps, a back brace-strap extending across between and connected to the back straps, a rear napkinsupport attached to the belt, means carried by the front portions of the shoulder-straps forattaching a bust form or supporter, front straps attached to the shoulder-straps and extending downward across each other to a point below the belt, said straps being joined to each other at their crossing-point and adapted to pass inside of the belt, and one of the front straps being-in sections at a point between the belt and the corresponding shoulder-strap and having at such point means for releasably connecting the sections, a front napkin-support attached to the front straps at their crossing-point, and hose-supporters attached to the lower ends of the front straps.

2. A garment-supporter comprising shoulder-straps, back straps connected thereto and extending downward toward each other, a belt with means for releasably joining its ends to the rear of which belt the back straps are attached, front shoulder-strap extensions passing rearwa-rd' and downward to and connected with the back straps, a back bracestrap extending across between and connected to the back straps, front straps attached to the shoulder-straps and extending downward across each other to a point below the belt, said straps being unattached to the belt and joined to each otherl'at their crossingpoint and adapted to pass inside of the belt, and hose-supporters attached to the lower ends of the front straps. A

3. A garment-supporter, comprising shoulder-braces, a belt secured at its rear middle portion to the said braces, crossed front straps extending downwardly from the forward portions of the braces tached to the belt and provided with hoseengaging devices at their lower ends.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

. MRS. H. TARLToN,

- P. A. WELLS.

ast and unat MYRTA A. WELLS. V 

